


Hand of the Beholder

by wynnebat



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Professions, EWE, Established Relationship, F/F, Post-Canon, Wandmaking (Harry Potter)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-06-11
Packaged: 2020-05-01 16:45:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19181821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wynnebat/pseuds/wynnebat
Summary: Misadventures in wandmaking.





	Hand of the Beholder

**Author's Note:**

> [Femslash Ficlets](https://femslashficlets.dreamwidth.org/) prompt - 211, beautiful.

Hermione examined the wand carefully, squinting and bringing it close to her face to better see any imperfections. The wood had been sanded and glossed. Inside, a string of hippogriff hair had been carefully inserted, done at the slowest pace imaginable so as not to rip the hair and thus ruin the wand. After sealing the wand, Hermione had performed the necessary spells to bind the wood and core. It was—or rather, it should be—a perfectly good wand.

Peering at it with suspicion, Hermione huffed at its beautiful exterior. She was getting better at wand handles and the wood gleamed under the back room's bright light. Yet it was the interior that mattered when it came to wands. Her last dozen wands had turned out to be flops, useless except as learning exercises. She had hope for this wand, but she wouldn't hold her breath.

A wand could look perfect without achieving anywhere near the perfection Hermione expected from herself and her creations. But she was a student in the art of wandcraft; as Ollivander said to her many times, she could not expect to become a master within a day or even a year. This did not quell Hermione's perfectionist tendencies.

" _Lumos_ ," she murmured, cautiously. Her protective robes were in place, but wandmaking was still an explosive art.

Nothing happened.

Hermione shook the wand, even lifting it to her ear like she'd sometimes seen Ollivander do. She had no idea what he heard when he did so. His explanations sounded like mystical mumbo-jumbo. It was terrible, respecting him as a mentor and as an expert wandmaker, and also hating the fact that she had daily sessions of communing with nature. When Hermione had signed up for a shift at the wand shop in the Diagon Alley cleanup following the final battle, she'd had no idea that in a year she would still be at this very same wand shop, studying and learning to her heart's content and on track to becoming one of Britain's next wandmakers. Luna had joined her, having forged a bond with Ollivander during the war, but she much preferred the aspect of wandmaking that involved collecting various materials. She also happily joined Ollivander to commune with nature.

Hermione pursed her lips at the wand and said, firmly, "You will work. You've given me enough trouble. _Lumos_!"

A pinprick of light appeared at the tip of the wand. While not powerful by any means, it meant she was on the right track. Hermione only had time to breathe a sigh of relief before the wand went dark again, not waiting for a _Nox_ to vanish the light. She groaned, closing her eyes momentarily. Fine. That was it.

"I give up," she said, although she pocketed the wand instead of throwing it across the room like she would have liked. Maybe some time in her pocket would do it some good.

The shop had closed for the day and Ollivander had long since gone home. Hermione had apparition access, so she simply apparated out, eager to spend some time away from the shop. With some luck, she might have a revelation in the shower about how exactly to corral her recalcitrant wand.

One moment to the next, Hermione was home again. She stomped her feet on the welcome mat—oh, the things that she touched, prodded, and accidentally stepped in within Ollivander's back room—and stepped inside.

Unsure of whether Luna was home or if her day trip ran long, but still hopeful anyway, Hermione called out, "I'm home!"

"I'm home, too!" said a voice from the vicinity of the kitchen.

With a smile, Hermione continued through the flat. Luna was standing next to the kitchen table, twirling her hair as she stared contemplatively down at the table. Every centimeter of it was covered. Not with food, but with a full array of branches, plants, bones, and other bits and bobs.

"Successful trip, then?" Hermione asked, kissing her girlfriend on the cheek. It was meant to be a peck, but it stretched long when Luna turned her head to kiss her, and Hermione only pulled away when she accidentally brushed up against the table and sent a piece of wood clattering down.

Luna smiled, not in the least bit bothered. "It was probably a dud, anyway." She vanished the wood and leaned against Hermione. She smelled like the forest, and Hermione would complain, but she herself probably smelled of frustration and light singing from her previous attempted wand. "I think _all_ of these are duds. But they are very pretty. I'll make a bookshelf from the wood if Ollivander doesn't like them."

"Ollivander doesn't like anything," Hermione grumbled. She pulled the wand from her robes and showed it to Luna. "It doesn't work. I'm sure he'll soon decide that I'm the worst apprentice possible and fire me. I've never been fired before. I couldn't survive it."

"Hm," Luna said, taking the wand and waving it light. " _Lumos_."

Instant night filled their flat.

"I hate you," Hermione said to the wand, very seriously. "If you don't watch yourself, it will be back to the Forbidden Forest with you."

Luna's hand found hers in the dark. "You have to be gentle with it. Otherwise, it won't listen."

Hermione breathed deeply. Wandmaking was the most irritating, confounding, and utterly rewarding line of work she could have found herself in. " _Lumos_ , please."

Light returned slowly, starting from the corners of the room as though the wand was sucking the night back inside itself, until it returned soundlessly to nonexistence. Ollivander would be able to explain it tomorrow. For the moment, Hermione could only place the wand onto the table, and say, "Let's go out to dinner. Somewhere muggle. I don't want to see another wand for at least an hour."

And with a laugh, Luna agreed.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I'm also on [tumblr](https://wynnefic.tumblr.com/).


End file.
